The Latest: 'Last Men' director reflects on Oscar nomination

The Canadian Press

Published: Jan 23 at 8:44 a.m.

Updated: Jan 23 at 3 p.m.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The Latest on the announcement of nominees for the 90th annual Oscar nominations announced Tuesday by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from Beverly Hills, California (all times local):

8:40 a.m.

The maker of the "Last Men in Aleppo" has made Oscars history for his war-torn country, Syria.

The 90-minute documentary is the first Syrian film to be nominated for an Academy Award. Director Firas Fayyad calls the nomination "a big shout out to justice" because it documents what he called the war crimes of the Syrian government.

The Netflix production follows a group of first responders in the White Helmets who remain in the opposition-held part of Aleppo city and dig through the rubble and follow bombings from the Syrian government for survivors. The rescuers themselves often come under attack as they carry out their rescue missions.

Making it to the United States is an added struggle for Fayyad, who left the war-torn country in 2012 and lives in Denmark. With his Syrian passport, he has been interrogated for hours before being permitted in the US. His producer and assistant director, also Syrians, will have to "work hard" to make it to Los Angeles for the Oscars on March 4.

Syria is one of the country's that face a travel ban.

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8:15 a.m.

It is a mathematical impossibility for Oscar nominations to please everyone, but this year came pretty close with meaningful love for "Get Out" and "Lady Bird," and the history-making nomination of "Mudbound" director of photography Rachel Morrison.

But there are still some surprising inclusions and omissions that will have people talking Tuesday.

Denzel Washington has managed to sneak in as a best actor contender for the little-seen "Roman J. Israel, Esq," possibly taking the spot that may have gone to James Franco for "The Disaster Artist." After years of misses, "Hoop Dreams" director Steve James has finally been recognized in the documentary film category for "Abacus: Small Enough to Jail."

And although nominations were kind to blockbusters, "Wonder Woman," one of the year's most popular was left with zero.

Read more about this year's Oscar nominations snubs and surprises here.

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7:40 a.m.

Acting legends Christopher Plummer and Meryl Streep continued to make records with new Oscar nominations but a bit of unusual history was also made by a former pro basketball star — Kobe Bryant.

The animated short film, "Dear Basketball," written and narrated by Bryant, got a nomination for best animated short film. The former Los Angeles Lakers guard next could get an Oscar to go along with his NBA championships, MVP Awards and Olympic gold medals.

Bryant writes on Twitter: "What? This is beyond the realm of imagination."

At age 88, Plummer became the oldest acting nominee to date. He already holds the crown for the oldest acting winner, having won for his supporting role in "Beginners" in 2011 at age 82. And Streep increased her lead as the most nominated actress in Oscar history by nabbing her 21st nomination for her work in "The Post." She has won three times.

Composer John Williams added to his record number of nominations for writing film scores with his 46th nod. He has a staggering overall total of 51 nominations, including five for original song.

Find more facts about this year's Oscar nominees here .

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7:20 a.m.

Tiffany Haddish is getting some love on Twitter for her energetic, fun-loving presentation of the Oscar nominees, including a few dance moves and a creative pronunciation or two.

Haddish, a huge hit in "Girls Trip," even got co-announcer Andy Serkis into the spirit, and the two chuckled their way through the proceedings, injecting needed energy into the early morning affair.

The comedian quipped to Serkis at one point: "I gotta see this Dunkirk, seems like a lotta people like it'

Haddish got the most attention for her several attempts at pronouncing the name Daniel Kaluuya, a best actor nominee for "Get Out." She ended with "Kallelujah!" and then quipped: "He knows his name." One Twitter user commented that Haddish could mis-pronounce his name anytime.

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Tiffany Haddish's quote about "Dunkirk" has been corrected in the above item.

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7:05 a.m.

It's the year of the woman for this year's Oscar nominees.

Greta Gerwig became just the fifth woman nominated for best director and "Mudbound" director of photography Rachel Morrison made history as the first woman nominated for best cinematography in nominations announced Tuesday for the 90th annual Academy Awards.

And four of the nine best picture nominees feature a female protagonist.

The cascading fallout of sexual harassment scandals throughout Hollywood put particular focus on the best director category, which for many is a symbol of gender inequality in the film industry.

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6:55 a.m.

"Mudbound" cinematographer Rachel Morrison is making history Tuesday as the first woman nominated for the cinematography Academy Award in the Oscars' 90-year history.

The same five photographers were nominated for the American Society of Cinematographers' awards, which will be presented on Feb. 17. Morrison's latest feature, "Black Panther," also opens in theatres that week.

The 39-year-old director of photography's other credits include "Fruitvale Station," ''Dope" and the HBO film "Confirmation."

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6:05 a.m.

The Oscar nominees for best director have been announced by the film academy. They include: "Dunkirk," Christopher Nolan; "Get Out," Jordan Peele; "Lady Bird," Greta Gerwig; "Phantom Thread," Paul Thomas Anderson" and "The Shape of Water."

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6 a.m.

The Oscar nominees for best animated feature film have been announced by the film academy. They include: "The Boss Baby," ''The Breadwinner," ''Coco," ''Ferdinand" and "Loving Vincent."

The Oscar nominees for best actress in a motion picture have been announced by the film academy. They are: Sally Hawkins, "The Shape of Water"; Frances McDormand, "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"; Margot Robbie, "I, Tonya"; Saoirse Ronan, "Lady Bird"; Meryl Streep, "The Post."

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5:45 a.m.

The Oscar nominees for best song in a motion picture have been announced by the film academy. They include: "Mighty River" from "Mudbound; "Mystery of Love" from "Call Me By Your Name"; "Remember Me" from "Coco"; "Stand Up for Something" from "Marshall; and "This is Me" from "The Greatest Showman."

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5:40 a.m.

Oscar nominees for best foreign-language film have been announced by the film academy. They include: Chile's "A Fantastic Woman"; Russia's "Loveless"; Lebanon's "The Insult"; Hungary's "On Body and Soul"; and Sweden's "The Square."

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5:38 a.m.

The Oscar nominees for best supporting actress in a motion picture have been announced by the film academy. They include: Mary J. Blige, "Mudbound"; Allison Janney, "I, Tonya"; Lesley Manville, "Phantom Thread"; Laurie Metcalf, "Lady Bird"; and Octavia Spencer, "The Shape of Water."

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This post corrects the spelling of Lesley Manville's first name.

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5:30 a.m.

The Oscar nominees for best original score in a motion picture have been announced by the film academy. They include: "Dunkirk," Hans Zimmer; "Phantom Thread," Jonny Greenwood; "The Shape of Water," Alexandre Desplat; "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," John Williams; "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," Carter Burwell.

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5:25 a.m.

The Oscar nominees for best visual effects in a motion picture have been announced by the film academy. They include: "Blade Runner 2049," ''Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," ''Kong: Skull Island," ''Star Wars: The Last Jedi," ''War for the Planet of the Apes."

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5:20 a.m.

The Oscar nominees for best cinematography in a motion picture have been announced by the film academy. They include: They are: Roger Deakins, "Blade Runner 2024"; Bruno Delbonnel, "Darkest Hour"; Hoyte van Hoytema, "Dunkirk"; Rachel Morrison, "Mudbound"; Dan Laustsen, "The Shape of Water."

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5 a.m.

The Oscar nominations are about to begin.

Tiffany Haddish and Andy Serkis will host a nominations special scheduled to begin at 5:22 a.m. that will reveal the film academy's selections for the best in filmmaking from performances to production design.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been teasing segments appearances by stars including Gal Gadot, Salma Hayek and Rebel Wilson in pre-recorded segments. The nominations in 24 categories will be split between two presentations, the first streamed on Oscars.com and Oscars.org, and the segment airing live on "Good Morning America."

The 90th annual Academy Awards will be presented in a Feb. 26 ceremony hosted by comedian Jimmy Kimmel and aired live on ABC.

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2 a.m.

Guillermo del Toro's lavish monster romance "The Shape of Water" will vie for the most Oscar nominations Tuesday, but just as much attention may be focused on categories where women could make history.

Nominations for the 90th annual Academy Awards will begin at 8:22 a.m. EST, with a second wave of nominees announced live on ABC's "Good Morning America" at 8:38 a.m. Tiffany Haddish and Andy Serkis will join John Bailey, president of the film academy, to announce the nominees.

While this year's Oscar race has been unusually wide-open, "The Shape of Water" has a chance to tie "All About Eve," ''Titanic" and "La La Land" with a record 14 nominations.

"Lady Bird" filmmaker Greta Gerwig is expected to be just the fifth woman nominated in the category. "Mudbound" cinematographer Rachel Morrison could also become the first woman ever nominated for best cinematography.

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For full coverage of awards season, visit: https://apnews.com/tag/AwardsSeason